Health and safety concerns forced the curtains to close at a top Suffolk theatre less than a week after it was reopened following a multi-million pound refurbishment.

Health and safety concerns forced the curtains to close at a top Suffolk theatre less than a week after it was reopened following a multi-million pound refurbishment.

The Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds was closed for two years while a £5.3m restoration project was carried out at the Georgian playhouse.

But just six days after the listed Regency building reopened to the public, theatre bosses had to cancel Monday night's performance of Bouncers after a lighting problem meant members of the public would have had to find their seats in the dark.

The theatre's technical staff worked flat out to solve the problem and Tuesday night's show went ahead without a hitch.

The theatre's artistic director Colin Blumenau said: "It's inevitable when you do as much work to a building as we have recently that there will be unforeseen technical issues with the systems that have been put in place.

"On this particular occasion, a problem arose which made it impossible for us to use the lights in a way that gave enough light for stage access into the auditorium.

"We are duty bound to cancel the performance so as not to risk the safety of any members of the public. The problem has been addressed and we are completely confident of a swift return to a full operation."

A theatre spokeswoman added that the audience had been "very understanding" and all theatre-goers who missed out on Monday's show were given the choice of a refund or had their tickets reallocated for another evening.